HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Battle of First Bar was fought between British and Chinese forces at First Bar Island and its surrounding area in the Pearl River,
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
province, China, on 27 February 1841 during the
First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
.


Background

On 21 February 1841, former Imperial Commissioner
Lin Zexu Lin Zexu (30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850), courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese political philosopher and politician. He was a head of state (Viceroy), Governor General, scholar-official, and under the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynasty ...
wrote that 1,000 regular troops from
Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
and the same number from
Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
arrived in batches at Canton (Guangzhou). Lin met General Hsiang-fu of the Hunan troops in the afternoon and then General Yung-fu the next day. On 24 February, Lin, Imperial Commissioner Qishan, and other officials inspected the defences of the Pearl River, and spent the night at Lieh-te, east of Canton. The inspection continued the next day and ended early on 26 February at Ta-huang-chiao, south of Canton.


Battle

On the morning of 27 February, ''
Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
'', ''
Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...
'', ''
Alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...
'', ''
Sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...
'', ''
Modeste Modeste may refer to: * Modeste (name), including a list of people with the name * French ship Modeste (1759), French ship ''Modeste'' (1759), a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy * French ship Modeste, list of French ships with this name ...
'', and the steamers ''Madagascar'' and ''
Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...
'' sailed past the
Bocca Tigris The Humen, also known as the Bocca Tigris or the Bogue, is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the S ...
along the Pearl River. Lieutenant John Elliot Bingham of the ''Modeste'' wrote, "As these ships sped along, the shore was lined with thousands of the inhabitants gazing on the bold barbarians, many of them, no doubt, secretly wishing them success."Bingham 1843, p. 68 Commodore Gordon Bremer, commander-in-chief of British forces, placed Captain Thomas Herbert of ''Calliope'' in command of the fleet. After sailing past Tiger Island and Second Bar, they reached near First Bar Island by noon. There, the British spotted ''
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
'', a former
East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
, hoisting the red flag of a Chinese admiral. The long Chinese field fortifications facing the river mounted 47 guns, and rows of white tents in the neighbouring paddy fields indicated a large number of Tartar troops. Over 40 war junks were further up the river.Bingham 1843, p. 69 As the steamers advanced, the Chinese batteries opened fire, which the British vigorously returned with shells and rockets. ''Modeste'' sailed within of the shore and fired broadsides before the other ships joined the cannonade. The Chinese forces made a determined resistance, but could not withstand the broadsides. The shells and rockets from ''Madagascar'' and ''Nemesis'' had a destructive effect, setting fire to much of the camp. ''Cambridge'' opened fire, but was soon overwhelmed by artillery from the British ships. Her crew jumped overboard to make way for the shore. Although the junks made a large amount of noise, they kept out of range from the British fleet.Bingham 1843, p. 70 After an hour, the Chinese batteries were nearly silenced, and the British forces landed. Herbert reported, "I landed with the seamen and marines ... and stormed the works, driving before us upwards of two thousand of their best troops, and killing nearly three hundred."''Bulletins of State Intelligence'' 1841, p. 344 Bingham wrote, "As the enemy fled before Lieutenant Stransham's party, they attempted to cross a deep branch of the river, in which numbers of them perished, and many were shot." The British captured the forts about half an hour after landing. During the land operations, Lieutenant Watson of ''Calliope'' and other officers boarded ''Cambridge'', and soon captured it after a resistance from the few Chinese crew that remained. The ship was found to mount 34 guns. Orders were sent to the officer to set it on fire. Shortly after dark, the fire exploded its
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, hurling the masts and beams in the air.Bingham 1843, p. 72 Herbert wrote that the explosion was so loud that it "must have been heard at Canton." A total of 98 Chinese guns were captured during the day. The British casualties were one seaman killed, six seamen wounded, and two marines wounded.''Bulletins of State Intelligence'' 1841, p. 347 The seaman who died on ''Modeste'' had the hammer of his
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
caught on the ship's thwart and when the piece discharged, the ball shot through his head.


Aftermath

On 28 February, Lin wrote, "I hear that yesterday the English rebels broke resistance at Wu-yung. The regulars from Hunan were stationed there, and had heavy losses, their Commander Hsiang-fu being also among the killed."Waley 1958, p. 140 Lin said that 100 trained militiamen came afterwards from Hsiang-fu's camp, but did not reach Wu-yung in time for the attack, and that in the afternoon, Qishan,
Deng Tingzhen Deng Tingzhen (; 1776–1846) was a Chinese politician who served as the Governor-General (China), governor-general of Liangguang (Guangdong and Guangxi) from early 1836 until early 1840. References

* 1776 births 1846 deaths ...
, and Yiliang began a meeting.


Notes


References

*Bernard, William Dallas; Hall, William Hutcheon (1845).
Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843
' (2nd ed.). London: Henry Colburn. pp. 165–170. *Bingham, John Elliot (1843).
Narrative of the Expedition to China from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842
' (2nd ed.). Volume 2. London: Henry Colburn. *
Bulletins of State Intelligence
'. Westminster: F. Watts. 1841. * Martin, Robert Montgomery (1847).
China: Political, Commercial, and Social; In an Official Report to Her Majesty's Government
'. Volume 2. London: James Madden. *Waley, Arthur (1958). ''The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes''. London: George Allen & Unwin. {{ISBN, 0049510126. 1841 in China First Bar First Bar Conflicts in Guangzhou February 1841 Military history of Guangdong First Bar Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom First Bar